dry january non alcoholic drinks

Because Dry January can be anytime of the year: best non-alcoholic drinks from distillates to seltzers

A trend that keeps gaining ground, non-alcoholic beverages range from beers to distillates to hard seltzers.

When we think of taking a break from alcohol, some might say that’s what Dry January is for. Well, no.

There is a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages. Such as, for example, non-alcoholic distillates, which range from gin to whiskey. Also beer, a beverage of which there are many brands that make versions of their beers without alcohol. It is, in fact, the first alcoholic beverage to be made without alcohol. The first non-alcoholic beer appeared in the United States in 1919.

It had to be brewed because of the new Prohibition laws. During this period, alcohol was banned in the country. The government decided that the maximum alcohol that any beverage could have was 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). Despite the return of alcoholic beverages after Prohibition, consumers developed a taste for non-alcoholic beer. From there, many U.S. brands created light beers to satisfy this consumer preference.

In addition to distilled spirits and beer, other types of beverages such as non-alcoholic wine also exist. And more recently the category of hard seltzers, sparkling (or carbonated) water, although they are enriched with 5% alcohol by volume, are more or less similar to a light beer and give people the “feeling” of drinking something much lighter, either for the sake of drinking something different or because many have the attraction of being low in sugar, carbohydrates and calories.

 

In mixology

Along with the aforementioned non-alcoholic or low-alcoholic drinks come cocktails or mocktails. Since there are many ways to make low ABV (low alcohol by volume), or zero alcohol cocktails. Mixology has taken another dimension in the last year in the non-alcoholic segment, a trend that was affirmed during the pandemic year with Google searches for “mocktail” increasing by 42%.

Now, we present some of these drinks and some non-alcoholic cocktail recipes to enjoy at any time of the year, no need to celebrate Dry January.

 

Non-Alcoholic Distillates

-Seedlip: pioneers of non-alcoholic gin. Read more here.

-Ritual Zero Proof: they offer whiskey, gin and tequila.

Lyre’s: aperitifs, gin, ready-to-drink spritz.

-Optimist Botanicals: three types of non-alcoholic distillates with different tastes like citrus, herbaceous and floral.

-New London Light: a distillate for mixology with ingredients such as orange and sage and features juniper berries like any good gin.

 

Other drinks

-H2O Sonoma Soft Seltzer: a different seltzer infused with California wine grapes, it has three flavors, rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. A sparkling water with no sulfites, no artificial sweeteners, no sugars and gluten-free.

-Kin Euphorics: a line of non-alcoholic beverages to help focus, calm and encourage creativity. The drinks are floral and herbal. They are part of the nootropics. Learn more about this type of beverages.

Mocktail Club: ready-to-drink non-alcoholic cocktails with fresh and sour flavors for the pleasure of all, such as: blackberry, cucumber, pomegranate, mint, lemon, pear.

 

Check out this recipes to try over Dry January (and all year ’round 😉)

Alcohol-free Gin Mule – by Monsieur Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz of alcohol-free gin

1 oz of ginger syrup

3 oz of sparkling water

Garnish: green lemon or mint for decoration

Type of glass: Copper cup or Highball or Collins

Preparation

Add in a copper cup or glass filled with ice, all the main ingredients except the water. Afterwards, mix with a toothpick or a bar spoon until your fingers feel cold when you touch the glass. Complete with soda water. Decorate with a slice of lemon and fresh mint.

 

Athènes mon Amour – by Maison Jaillance

Ingredients

4 basil leaves

1 sprig of rosemary

15 ml lemon

60 ml sparkling water with mastiqua

90 ml of Bulles de Muscat Jaillance

Preparation

1. Pour the lemon, basil leaves and sparkling water into a long drink glass.

2. Gently squeeze the ingredients with a pestle to extract the flavours of the basil.

3. Fill the glass with ice cubes.

4. Gently pour in the Bulles de Muscat Jaillance, stir gently 3 to 4 times.

5. Decorate with the rosemary sprig.

 

Lemon Lavender Mocktini – By The Merrythought

60 ml fresh yellow lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons of simple lavender syrup

1/4 teaspoon of grenadine

3 drops of bitter

First, combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until cold, and then, strain everything through a strainer into a martini glass and with a soda top. Decorate with a sprig of fresh lavender. You can add a drop of colorant to obtain a light lavender tone.

 

Don’t drink and drive. Enjoy responsibly.

 

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